Line holding device



March 3, 1964 A. B. ACIEGO 3,122,336

LINE HOLDING DEVICE Filed March 6. 1961 :"Y LQ II I s c i INVENTOR. ALF ONSO B. ACI EGO F'l 6.4. BY

A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,122,336 LEWE HGLDING DEVICE Alfonso l3. Aciego, 15227 Freeman Ave, Lawndale, Calif. Fiied Mar. 6, 1%1, Ser. No. 93,768 4 (Ilaims. (Q1. 3386) This invention relates generally to tools useful in construction work and more particularly to a novel line holding device for facilitating the formation of chalk lines or equivalent taut tapes to provide relatively long reference boundaries.

While the invention may be used in several different ways, its preferred function is in conjunction with chalk lines. In forming a chalk line, it is conventional practice to have two workers hold opposite ends of a string or line and pull the line taut. The line itself may be coated with chalk such that snapping of the same will cause a straightline impression to be formed on a surface along which the line is stretched. If there is only one person available to form the line, it is necessary for him to anchor one end of the line in some manner in order that he may stretch the line over the required distance which may be thirty or forty feet. The use of nails or hooks for this purpose is not particularly satisfactory not only because the line itself may slip on the nail and thus not lie flush with the surface upon which the chalk line is to be formed, but also because of unnecessary damage caused in securing the nail or hook in place. Where the chalk line is to be formed on a horizontal level surface, such as a loor, a heavy object such as a paint bucket or the like may be employed to hold down one end of the line, but again there is the problem of slippage. Moreover, it is difficult to align precisely the tape or string itself with measured off points between which the line is to extend.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel line holding device which will enable chalk linesto be rapidly, effectively, and accurately formed by only one person to the end that considerable time and labor is saved.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a line holding device meeting the primary object of this invention which will enable proper alignment of the held end of the line with any measured point, will not slip once proper aligning is established, and which will not appreciably deface the surface against which the line is to be held.

Briefly, these and other objects and advantages of this invention are attained by providing a metallic block member including means adjacent to its front end portion for anchoring the block member to the stationary surface upon which a chalk line is to be formed. The block also includes means adjacent to its rear end portion for securing one end of the chalk line. The line itself is adapted to pass underneath the block member so that it will extend from the front end in flush position with the surface. With this arrangement, tension on the line will be transmitted to the rear portion of the block tending to slide the block forwardly which in turn will cause the anchoring means to more securely engage the surface involved.

A better understanding of the invention, as well as ad ditional features and advantages thereof, will be had by now referring to a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the line holding device of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front cross section taken in the direction of the arrows 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is another perspective View of the under side of the device of FIGURE 1; and,

FIGURE 4 is a side cross-sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

3,l22,83 Patented Mar. 3, 1964 Referring first to FIGURE 1, the line holding device comprises a block 10 preferably made of metal to provide a relatively heavy weight. As shown, there is a chalk line or tape ll secured at its righthand end 12 to the rear end portion of the block it) and arranged to be manually stretched from its other end as indicated at 13. The securing means on the rear end portion of the block preferabiy comprises a recess 14- accommodating a knotted end of the line as will be described in greater detail subsequently.

Adjacent the front end portion of the block on its underside, there are provided retractable holding means which, as shown best in FIGURE 2, include a pair of prongs 15 and 16 respectively secured to a shaft 17 as by set screws 18 and 19. The shaft 17 is journaled for rotation in a transverse bore 2! passing through the front portion of the body 10. One end of the shaft 17 terminates in a manually operable knob 21. A small biasing spring 22. in turn is positioned between the knob 21 and the adjacent peripheral end portion of the bore 20. By this arrangement, the shaft and prongs 15 and 16 are biased to the left by the spring 22 as viewed in FIG- URE 2.

The front portion of the block includes slots 24 and 25 cut into the front and under side portion for accommodating the prongs l5 and 16. As will be evident from FIGURE 2, these slots cut across the transverse bore 20.

With particular reference to FIGURE 3, it will be noted that the slots 24 and 25 terminate in turns directed towards the far side of the block as indicated at 24' and 25, respectively. The arrangement is such that the biasing action of the spring 22 of FIGURE 2 tending to urge the shaft 17 and prongs 15 and 16 to the left hold the prongs l5 and 16 against corresponding sides of the slots 2% and 25. When the shaft 17 is rotated to bring the prongs 15 and 16 into their downwardly directed position, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the respective prongs will be biased into the turned ends 24' and 25' of the slots to lock them in an operative position in which the prongs extend generally normal to the bottom surface of the block it In addition to the foregoing structure, the block 10 includes a rectilinear, longitudinal groove 26 running along its under side from the rear end portion of the block out the front end portion. This groove will receive the line if so that the line may pass under the block 16 and yet the bottom surface may lie flush with any surface upon which a chalk line is to be formed.

Referring now to the cross section of FIGURE 4, it will be noted that the upper portion of the block it includes a cavity 27 adapted to have its opening closed by a threaded cap 23. The cavity 27, as shown, is provided for storing or temporarily retaining extra prongs indicated at 29.

As also shown clearly in FIGURE 4, the recess 14 at the rear end portion of the block it includes a notch 3h in one of its walls for retaining a knotted portion of the line 11.

With the foregoing description of the holding device in mind, its operation will be readily understood. Initially, one end of a chalk line, such as line 1-1, is knotted and inserted in the recess 14, the line passing through the notch 39 so that the knot in the line is held within the recess. The line is then pulled through the groove 26 on the under side of the holding device. The operator may then manually rotate the knob 21 shown in FIGURE 2. to in turn rotate the shaft 17' through ninety degrees to bring the iprongs 15 and '16 from the dotted line position fllustrated in FIGURE 4 to their operative solid line position. By means of a light tap with a hammer or similar object on the top surface of the block "10, the prongs 15 and 16 will engage any surface upon which the device is placed. The groove '26 may be aligned with any measured point or indexing (line so that the string or chalk line extending from the groove 26 out the front of the block will be in proper alignment.

' Even though a considerable tension may be placed on the line l'i by pulling on the end 1.3 shown in FIGURE 1, such tension will be transmitted to the rear portion of the block 10, thus tending to move the block it? forwardly from the rear. This action, in turn, will simply cause the prongs l5 and to tend to dig into the engaged surface to a greater extent, thus rendering more secure the gripping of the holding device to the surface in question. It will be evident that the feature of having the line 11 passing underneath the device and secured to the rear end thereof as described prevents the establishment of any moments of force which might tend to rotate the block forwardly about the prongs l5 and 16 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 4. On the contrary, any moments es'ta blished are in a clockwise direction tending to urge the rear pontion of the block into pressing engagement with the surface in question.

Another advantage of having the chalk line secured to the rear end portion of the block resides in the ability of the user to then exactly align one end of the line against a Wall or other structure. In other words, it is possible to initially secure the line at a start ng point even though that starting point may constitute a corner or edge of a wall or floor.

After the line has been stretched taut, and the chalk line formed by snapping of the line in a conventional manner, the operator may then simply lift up the holding device and rotate the manual knob 21 to retract the prongs i5 and 16 into the grooves 24 and 25 as viewed in FiGURE 3. With the prongs completely retracted within the block itself, there are no sharp points extending exteriorly of the block which might injure the user or tear his clothing. The spring 22 in biasing the shaft 17 and prongs 15' and 16 as viewed in FIGURE 2 will hold them in their retracted position against the side walls of the slots.

If some of the prongs 'become damaged or need to be replaced, it is a simple matter to remove the set screws 18 and 19 and insert spare prongs from the cavity 627.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that the present invention has provided a novel chalk line holding device which will enable one person to readily form chalk lines. While only one specific embodiment has been set forth and described, various changes falling clearly within the scope and spirit of this invention occur to those skilled in the ant. The line holding device is therefore not to be thought of as limited to the one embodiment and use set tonth merely for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. A line holding device comprising, in combination: a block; retractable prong means mounted in the front end portion oi said block; and manually operable means for moving said prong means from within said block to point downwardly in a position to penetrate a stationary surface for preventing sliding movement of said block, the rear end portion of said block including a recess, one wall portion defining said recess being notched for receiving one end of smd line, the bottom of said block having a straight longitudinal groove terminating at its rear end adjacent to sa d notch and passing out the lower front end portion of sm'd block for receiving and guiding the initial direct-ion of said line.

2. A device according to claim 1, in which said block includes a transverse bore passing through said front end portion and a pair of slots cut into the front wali and adjacent under side of the block on either ide of said groove, said slots cutting across said bore, said retractable prong means comprising a shaft extending transversely within said here and at least two prongs secured to said shaft and projecting in a longitudinal direction norm-ally from the axis of said shaft within said slots, said manual means comprising a knob secured to one end of said shaft at a side of said block l'whereby rotation of said knob through ninety degrees rotates said shaft to swing said two prongs downwardly to extend out from said slots in directions generally normal to the plane of the bottom of said block.

3. A device according to claim 2, including a spring positioned between said knob and the periphery of the one end of said bore at said side of said block, said spring bias-ing said shaft and prongs in a transverse direction, said prongs being urged against corresponding sides of said slots, said slots terminating on the under side of said block in short turns towards said one side to receive said prongs when moved to their downwardly directed position, whereby said prongs are locked in their operative position until an intentional inward force is applied on said knob to said shaft and prongs towards the opposite side of said block to free said prongs.

'4. A device according to claim 3, in which said block includes a cavity in its upper portion having an opening for receiving and retaining extra prongs; and a screw cap threadedly received in said opening for closing said cavity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 218,764 Mosher n Aug. 19, 1879 468,660 Hyser Feb. 9, 1892 2,728,989 Laggren Jan. 3, 1956 

1. A LINE HOLDING DEVICE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A BLOCK; RETRACTABLE PRONG MEANS MOUNTED IN THE FRONT END PORTION OF SAID BLOCK; AND MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS FOR MOVING SAID PRONG MEANS FROM WITHIN SAID BLOCK TO POINT DOWNWARDLY IN A POSITION TO PENETRATE A STATIONARY SURFACE FOR PREVENTING SLIDING MOVEMENT OF SAID BLOCK, THE REAR END PORTION OF SAID BLOCK INCLUDING A RECESS, ONE WALL PORTION DEFINING SAID RECESS BEING NOTCHED FOR RECEIVING ONE END OF SAID LINE, THE BOTTOM OF SAID BLOCK HAVING A STRAIGHT LONGITUDINAL GROOVE TERMINATING AT ITS REAR END ADJACENT TO SAID NOTCH AND PASSING OUT THE LOWER FRONT END PORTION OF SAID BLOCK FOR RECEIVING AND GUIDING THE INITIAL DIRECTION OF SAID LINE. 